Castle Aching

[ianathompson]

1 hour ago, runs as required said:

You can surely devise a precise way in which all the boards can be removable - a boon when you get older for adjusting wiring on the underside.

 

 Best of luck with that!

 

I am contemplating dismantling the  allegedly "removable" boards at Lacono to complete the colour light signalling system.

 

I can remember the problems the last time such an excercise was undertaken at Urteno, when the bascule bridge was built.

This latter station is also supposed to have a colour light signalling system  but experience suggests that it won't!

 

Ian T

[teaky]

Funny even if it turns out to be false.

 

[Hroth]

4 hours ago, Edwardian said:

I'm certainly having 'a moment'

 

You're certainly overheating.....

 

Perhaps you should take the opportunity to fit a small a/c unit in your study for those "moments"?

 

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

OK folks - the 64 million dollar question: full or simplified lining?

 

Simplified.  In authentic lighting and at authentic distances, the lining can barely be discerned.

And putting the beloved in a smoking compartment?  She'll get something in her eye again and fall for the next helpful bounder!

 

1 hour ago, teaky said:

Funny even if it turns out to be false.

 

 

Somewhat along the same lines of the 17th Century "Beggars Litany" - From Hull, from Hell, from Halifax, ’tis this, From all these three, Good Lord, deliver us.

 

 

[brianusa]

8 hours ago, Regularity said:

Much prefer Diana Rigg (who wouldn’t!) in “Briefer Encounter”, as part of an episode of “Three Piece Suite”, made when the BBC produced high quality programmes rather than filling the airwaves with dire coverage of non-news. (Covid19 is news, but doesn’t need an extra 90 minutes a day to inform us that no one really knows. Standard news slot could do that.)

 

Brief Encounter is one of the few movies that I can view each time it appears on TV.  I know the plot off by heart, I know the individuals from pipe smoking Dad to the cafe manager who resists the advances of the Porter played by Stanley Holloway.   I disliked Trevor Howard for trying to break up this happy breed in their comfortable lounge in front of the fire with the kids upstairs.  Glad when he left and Celia Johnson returned to her senses.

     Brian.

[brianusa]

12 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I understand that the Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer, shares your concerns and has written to the Cabinet Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Sir Mark Sedwill, to express those concerns, including the possible misuse of public monies.

 

This whole incident is due to such Opposition concern and the Media for the wall to wall coverage.  Whats the big deal; the man drives 250 miles for whatever reason and consternation breaks out irrespective of the fact that thousands of citizens flaunt the rules as seen over the recent holiday.

    Brian.

[runs as required]

2 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 

Brief Encounter is one of the few movies that I can view each time it appears on TV.  I know the plot off by heart, ....

...  Glad when he left and Celia Johnson returned to her senses.

 

 

what a saddo!   I've always tried to pretend to be Trevor Howard.

Actually Imust confess I  have drink taken outside in broad daylight at 21.30H !  And I now think that that Dominic Cummings is absolutely brilliant for having fessed up to telling us we are total losers if you daren't  use your own judgement in interpreting our own government's  rules.

This afternoon is the first time we have seen our Newcastle grandchildren over here in Gateshead for 8 weeks.

My how they have grown! 

 

 

[Regularity]

49 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Whats the big deal; the man drives 250 miles for whatever reason and consternation breaks out irrespective of the fact that thousands of citizens flaunt the rules as seen over the recent holiday.

The big deal is down to two factors:

He was behind the creation of the rules (and the ill-preparedness which preceded them); and

No one other than Boris likes him.

 

Actually, he admitted to driving that distance after realising he probably had Covid-19, when this is one black and white issue: if you think you have a contagious disease, you need to isolate immediately.

He also admitted to driving some distance to check his vision, as he wasn’t sure it was working properly.

That’s illegal: if you suspect you are unfit to drive, you don’t.

 

Let me put it another way. If thousands of people came round to your house and kicked the place down, would you dismiss that as ok because there were thousands of them flaunting the rules?

[webbcompound]

55 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 

This whole incident is due to such Opposition concern and the Media for the wall to wall coverage.  Whats the big deal; the man drives 250 miles for whatever reason and consternation breaks out irrespective of the fact that thousands of citizens flaunt the rules as seen over the recent holiday.

    Brian.

 

Well no. Lots of people are appaled that a man who claims responsibility for directing the national strategy broke so many of the rules they put in place, and  that the majority of the population have followed obediently is only part of it. Lying about it to cover it up, claiming people who reported it were lying, his wife publishing in the Spectator a piece which makes it look as if they never left London, these are all things we do not want our government to be involved in.  Exceptionalist pusilanimity is the reason he should be removed. He cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of the nation, yet he appears to remain at the heart of government. 

[Nearholmer]

Brian

 

The idea that half the nation is flouting the lock-down rules is deeply flawed. During the "hard lock-down" adherence was phenomenally high, which is exactly why the small number of flouters made headlines. Millions of people adhered to the guidance, which was stricter than the letter of the law, at great personal cost, which is why they feel insulted by a clever-clogs who is attempting to use the letter of the law as his defence.

 

Added to which, he appears to have the entire cabinet wound round his little finger, so wields very considerable influence, yet hasn't got the b*lls to stand for elected office. This provides a snapshot of what people think about him and the issue https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52811812

 

Since the lock-down was softened*, people definitely have become freer in their interpretation of the guidance, mainly I think because it contains an apparent contradiction in that it permits anyone to spend unlimited time outdoors at >2m proximity to any number of perfect strangers in public, yet forbids meeting-up with more than one person to spend time at >2m in public. The logic** behind this has not been properly explained to us all, and quite how the virus knows whether the encounter is pre-arranged or not certainly baffles me. So, as you can imagine, any number of "chance encounters" between households are now happening, although it has to be said that people are largely keeping 2m apart.

 

Lastly, people are beginning to cotton-on to the fact that we have one of the highest per-capita death rates so far in the world, which is making them question government competence much more closely.

 

Kevin

 

* Here, copied direct from the government website:

 

There are a limited number of things you can now do that you could not do before:

spend time outdoors – for example sitting and enjoying the fresh air, picnicking, or sunbathing

meet one other person from a different household outdoors - following social distancing guidelines

exercise outdoors as often as you wish - following social distancing guidelines

use outdoor sports courts or facilities, such as a tennis or basketball court, or golf course – with members of your household, or one other person while staying 2 metres apart

go to a garden centre

At all times, you should continue to observe social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, including ensuring you are 2 metres away from anyone outside your household. 

 

**I suspect that there is some, possibly flawed logic, in that when the guidance was written it was likely envisaged that "meeting-up" would involve being spot-on 2m from the person for a prolonged period, and possibly accidentally breaching the 2m altogether, while it envisaged strangers passing one another in the park, limiting potential transmission time to seconds. But it ain't like that, because people can remain in adherence while "setting up camp" in family groups in parks, so spend all day just over 2m from strangers. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Nearholmer

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

Brief Encounter is one of the few movies that I can view each time it appears on TV.  I know the plot off by heart, I know the individuals from pipe smoking Dad to the cafe manager who resists the advances of the Porter played by Stanley Holloway.   I disliked Trevor Howard for trying to break up this happy breed in their comfortable lounge in front of the fire with the kids upstairs.  Glad when he left and Celia Johnson returned to her senses.

     Brian.

Gee, thanks for the spoiler alert! 

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, webbcompound said:

 

Well no. Lots of people are appaled that a man who claims responsibility for directing the national strategy broke so many of the rules they put in place, and  that the majority of the population have followed obediently is only part of it. Lying about it to cover it up, claiming people who reported it were lying, his wife publishing in the Spectator a piece which makes it look as if they never left London, these are all things we do not want our government to be involved in.  Exceptionalist pusilanimity is the reason he should be removed. He cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of the nation, yet he appears to remain at the heart of government. 

 

We went through the same kind of thing here in the bushfires late last year when the PM went off on a Hawaiian holiday in the middle of it, then tried to cover it up, then blamed his family because they'd been looking forward to it and then claimed  he wasn't needed to actually man a fire hose so should have been able to go.

 

Now Hawaiian holidays aren't illegal but it definitely was not a good look. Part of the issue was that  as PM he should be here, but the main angst seemed to be that he had bu99ered off rather than enduring it all like the rest of us were, let alone all the volunteer firefighters who had had no holiday of any kind, or any income for months in some cases. He made world headline because of it and his already not-very-impressive  ratings plummetted further.

 

He sure did learn his lesson though! In comparison his overall  performance during the virus has been decisive, logical and effective. 

Unless its a body double and he's back in Hawaii.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by monkeysarefun

[Donw]

Today I broke the lockdown rules. I went round to my neighbours house and got closer than 2 metres  indeed their was physical contact. The reason was that their tortoise had done a runner escaping from its enclosure and I found it in our garden. 

Don

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

which is why they feel insulted by a clever-clogs who is attempting to use the letter of the law as his defence.

 

Should just give him some Queensland style penalty like I'd potentially get if I crossed the border!

 

(not that I intend  to go to Queensland..)

 

 

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

When I hear politicians explaining why they broke some rule they had applied to the general population I am reminded of this song 

 

 

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Donw said:

tortoise had done a runner

Unlikely in my experience of tortoises

[Edwardian]

Breaking news .....

 

Reasons not to visit Suffolk ...

 

Remember EDF, the French energy company whose symbol, inexplicably, is a small curly turd?

 

Well, they're set to give us Sizwewell C.

 

As for the Cummings and goings up here, if the Downing Street Bully, who now appears to have the whole cabinet fagging for him, thought he had Covid-19, what the bloody b*ggering Hell was he doing exposing my opticians to the virus?  Are these more of the Little People who don't matter in his hubristic world view? 

 

6 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Gee, thanks for the spoiler alert! 

 

Yes, it's the old, old story of married boy meets married girl, take tea and visit the cinema together, feel mildly naughty, don't have sex and then return to their respective partners. 

 

Oh, and it contains the useful advisory, there aren't any pwantomimes in Juin. 

 

As I say, one of the finest films ever made.

 

Dame Celia Johnson in tweed ... time for a cold shower I fancy.

[Donw]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Unlikely in my experience of tortoises

 

I am not sure of your experience of Tortoises but you think they dont go very fast  but take your eyes off one for a minute or two and it can easily disappear into the plants. I think they must speed up when you are not looking. That hare probably stopped for a minute to answer his phone and the Tortoise nipped past on his blind side.

Don

[Hroth]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Unlikely in my experience of tortoises

 

Don't you believe it, turn your back on 'em and FOOM!!!!  they're gone.

 

Adventurous too, ours was found halfway into the village before we caught up with him/her (we never found out).  Thinking on, the poor thing was on a Brief Encounter quest, heard there was another tortoise in the village and decided to try his/her luck.

 

We've all heard of Zenos/Xenos paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise and been mildly amused by it, but they were right!

 

Don't be fooled by their creeping about, lettuce eating act...

 

[Buhar]

Don't worry, Don. I'm sure concern for animal welfare is an exceptional circumstance. Or you could say you were concerned about your perception of distance and were testing that.

Alan 

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

FOOM!!!!  they're gone.

That tortoise wouldn't go FOOM!!!! if you put 4,000,000 volts through it.

 

N. Blue

[Nearholmer]

That would probably be quite dangerous, not just to the tortoise, because I imagine that the gasses produced as the soft-tissue of the tortoise vaporised might create sufficient pressure within the shell to cause it to explode like a fragmentation grenade.

 

(No tortoises were harmed in the making of this set of deductions)

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

That tortoise wouldn't go FOOM!!!! if you put 4,000,000 volts through it.

 

N. Blue

 

Lovely plumage, though.....

 

[Edwardian]

Clearly there is a risk in touching a tortoise shell, as Covid-19 can survive "for several days" on hard surfaces, according to A Boffin on R4 this morning. We had believed this to be a fairly certain 72 hours, so I'm grateful for the added uncertainty there.  Anyway, said Boffin was on The Today Programme to share the interesting news that copper kills off the vile virus. 

 

Thus, a solution to two urgent problems presents itself, as in:

 

"I have just driven 260 miles in order to have my tortoise sheathed in copper, officer"

[Donw]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

That tortoise wouldn't go FOOM!!!! if you put 4,000,000 volts through it.

 

N. Blue

 

I wouldn't be so sure . The test facility on the GEC site at witton putting a full short on a 400KV test rig one of those big isolators ended up crashing through the test site control building. Gave the engineers inside something to think about. Up the voltage 10 times and you dont know what by happen.

 

Don

[Hroth]

Just now, Edwardian said:

...the interesting news that copper kills off the vile virus. 

 

A new one on "If you want to know the time, ask a policeman"!

 

Other important info.  Don't douse your testudinoids in bleach or leave too long in direct sunlight.